Let's Have Tea

Yesterday afternoon, while Kadence was napping and Jaedyn went to the office with Daddy, I had a "mommy date".   It was a simple hour of heartfelt, comfortable conversation in my living room over a cup of peppermint patty tea with a friend.  Although short, it gave us time to just be women, sharing life challenges without being interrupted.  The hour was over far too quickly, but what a nice break in the day!  

After my friend left, my thoughts started to fill with the amazing tapestry God weaves through the many seasons of our lives.   In my mind, I journeyed back 13 years.  It was a warm day in May and I stood outside the home Kevin and I had built together.  On one side of me was the front door to the house that held a heartful of memories collected over 5 years, on the other side of me was the moving truck that was carrying all of our possessions into a new beginning. 

I was excited about embarking on a new adventure with this man I loved so much, but my heart was ripping in pieces at what I was leaving behind.  Three years prior, we had entered full time youth & music ministry.  We were young, without children, and ministry totally consumed our lives.  Our home was always open and became a haven for the students.  We finished our basement as an oversized teenage "playroom".  The rooms echoed with laughter.   It was LOUD. :)  We shared our lives.   Sometimes we shared tears as we tackled life's problems together.  We grew together through bible studies, afterglows, and discipleship classes within those walls.  Every one of them held my heart in their hands.   They were the only "kids" I had at the time and I loved them as if they were my own. 

I remember a conversation that nearly ripped my heart to shreds, overheard in the basement after we announced we were leaving.  Together, as they wrestled through the coming change, they questioned if there was a way they could pool their resources to buy the house...because it was THEIR house..and where would they go now?   Ugghh.  I felt like a mother giving her children up for adoption. And yet, I knew God had called and we must follow Him.  No matter how much we wanted to stay, it was time for change. 

There have been many changes on our journey since then. I'm really not a fan of change.  I still hate packing up my memories. I still feel conflicted when I see a moving truck outside the front door.   I still hate to say goodbye, no matter how exciting the adventure ahead.  These days, goodbye has a whole new set of complications since my children have a heart full of emotions all their own that I must help them navigate.  But yesterday, I was reminded that sometimes our journey comes full circle.  Often at the other end, there is a whole new set of blessings and a view we didn't have the last time around.  That view that is gained from life experiences, and may never be realized if we always stayed at one place and always gazed in the same direction.  Life is about growth.  Often, it takes change to facilitate that growth.  At least that's how it has played out on my own personal journey.

Yesterday, my "mommy" friend was one of those "kids" I viewed as my own.  In an unexpected twist that landed us just 60 miles from where we began full time ministry all those years ago, our journey to Cumberland has placed us living in the same town again.  Now a woman with children of her own, we are at parallel life seasons and relate to each other in a whole new way.  Now serving in ministry herself, we share a burden to give hope through Jesus to the same community through our individual churches.  In this new season of life, we share memories and  a common belief system that unites us, but our individual journeys have caused our friendship to be even richer this time around.   Our lives are busier, and we can't get together daily or even weekly, but when we do it is a heartwarming hour - an hour of escape that returns us to the simplicity of 13 years ago.  

This full circle journey has held many unexpected blessings.  That's just how God is.  He fills our life with little joys we could've never seen coming.  Sometimes, His plan is filled with irony.  You just can't plan or make this stuff up on your own.  Only He is wise enough to intersect our lives in such a beautiful way. I'm loving seeing His plan unveiled, day by day. 

If you were a Strong Tower girl (you know who you are),  my freezer is no longer filled with Schwann's delicacies waiting for your arrival.  My floors are now sometimes littered with toys and my attention is often drawn away by our two little mini-mes.  But you remain in my heart.  I would love to reconnect.  My tea leaf 
selection is amazing.  There is a cup with with your name on it.  And you are always welcome.  :)